RECIPE #82 & 83: Breaking the Habit (Coffee Porter)

When I first brewed my Coffee Porter it was because my wife told me to stop adding Brett to everything.  I was going to make 10 gallons of Porter, and then add Brett to half of it for secondary.  She told me to add coffee instead.  So I did... to the plain version.  The beer that ensued was a wonderful marriage of roast and cocoa.  It was difficult to tell where the coffee started and the beer stopped.  When Becca told me to do it, I did, assuming it would be a fun beer to make once, she would be happy, and I would still get to make the Brett finished version I really wanted.  Little did I know that this would be one awesome beer and is now being refined to house a spot in my Flagship beers for the brewery.

RECIPE #75: The Justin (American Barleywine)

I have been brewing for 4 years now.  During that 4 years I have written at least 6 recipes for a Barleywine, but never pulled the trigger.  It's not that I am afraid of the style.  It's that I am not too sure that I wanted a full 5 gallons of it.  Sometimes I really love Barleywines, sometimes not so much.  The beer that defines the American Style tastes like garbage fresh... yes, Bigfoot, I'm looking at you!  Overly bitter, grassy, astringent, like chewing on hop cones, overlaying tangy caramel malt and a little roasted dryness.  I really enjoy the lower IBUs and bolder malt character of English Barleywines, but thus far in my brewing career, I have failed to make an outstanding British beer of a lower gravity, making a bigger one isn't really what I wanted to do (too much money and time invested).  So, for this one, when I finally pull the trigger, I went for a blend.  Malt complexity, toffee, toasty, and lots of bold American hops.  All of this layered over enough bitterness to balance and clear the pallate, but not so much that it is the only thing you can taste.  I chose a yeast with character and a medium attenuation to keep it from drying out too much, and to add an extra layer of complexity.  I am hoping that this beer will age gracefully for quite a few years.

REVIEW: BANGARANG: No Nap (Coffee Porter)

There is something so comforting about a dark beer in the cold of winter.  The roast and chocolate, the hint of sweetness, a touch of toasty malts, it seems to invoke the natural atmosphere of the season.  It's something you can snuggle up to the fire with.  A good cup of coffee can do much the same on those dark and dreary days.  And of course, these two beverages make great friends.  The dark, chocolaty, roastiness of the beer and the coffee interplay beautifully if done well.  As a bonus, it makes for a great beer to pair with breakfast, whether on a Saturday morning, or Tuesday night.  Turned out just like I hoped the recipe would.

Look:  2/3

Pours a dark brown, almost black, see of lusciousness under a creamy tannish head that persists to a thick cap all the way down.  It is too dark to see through, but is super clear with garnet highlights.  Foam clings to the glass to the end.

Aroma:  10/12

The first thing to blast you from the glass is fresh cold pressed coffee!  Roast, chocolate, bold mocha.  Not like 2 day old coffee at work, fresh and vibrant, like smelling the coffee grinder after a fresh batch.  Under the coffee are notes of walnut skins, rich toffee, and biscuits.  There are also some mild dark fruit esters in the background.

Flavor:  16/20

Tastes like a barista prepared you the best cup of Joe.  Coffee dominates with mild roast and dark chocolate.  There is a low level of earthy hop notes that pair well with the roast and coffee, layered over bitter chocolate, biscuits, and walnut skins.  Hop bitterness is in the medium range and could use a boost to help the finish hit with a touch more oomph.

Mouthfeel:  3/5

Medium body gives way to a semi-sweet finish that is balanced out by the bitterness and roast which linger on the palate.  Medium carbonation helps to cleanse the palate.  There is something slightly off in the end, it sits a little flabby.  Needs to either have a few more IBUs or a few more points off the FG to give it a finishing punch.

Overall:  9/10

The combination of the base beer and the coffee beans is exquisite.  Hard to tell where the coffee ends and the beer begins.  The sweetness of the beer pairs well with the roast in the malt and coffee, and is balanced well with the bitterness of the hops.  Multi layered beer as the coffee kicks hard and then gives way to toffee, chocolate, toasty malts, and earthy hops below.  The stonefruit esters from the yeast play well with the cherry notes from the beans as well.  Again, the finish needs a little more punch to it, but otherwise a wonderful beer.  And at 5.5% you can have a few.

40/50

RECIPES: #72 BANGARANG: No Nap (Coffee Porter) & #73 Dark Dismay (Brett Porter)

I don't typically brew Porters.  Actually, I've never brewed a Porter in my 4 years of brewing.  You know, Porter, that obscure style, is it a less roasty Stout, or a more roasty Brown Ale?  But there is something wonderful about a good Porter on a cool night.  My inspiration to make this beer was from the Mad Fermentationist and his new book American Sour Beers.  In it he references a Vatted Porter made by a commercial brewery where they age a Porter with Brett and Lacto in oak tuns for some time.  I decided I was going to do the same, brew 10 gallons, and age half for funk.  My wife told me I always sour and play with Brett, do something different for once. O_o?  She suggested coffee.  So I went with it.  Half coffee, and half aged on Brett for funk.  I had gotten to enraptured in the idea that I wasn't going to miss out on it.

Review: Hop Hedonist IPA

There is something about a good West Coast IPA, lots of hops bursting out of the glass, complex layers of fruits, resin, pine, and dankness atop a subtle malt background and a dry finish.  That's how I like 'em, and that's how I make 'em.  The layers of hop aroma and flavor are great on this beer, though the bitterness needs a boost.  Both this beer and the Black IPA that was made with it really hit the spot.  The use of Munic. Maybe Malt and Dark Wheat really get the color to a deep orange w/o the raisin flavors and sweetness associated with oxidized crystal malts.

Look:

Pours a slightly hop hazed burnished orange with a dense off-white head fades slow to to a cap and leaves great rings of lace all the way down the glass.   Tiny bubbles feed up from the bottom.  Some hop particles in suspension.

Aroma:

Hops leap out of the glass, peach and mango, blueberry, pine needles, followed by hop resin and grapefruit with onion in the background.  Just a touch of floral hops.  There is a sweet and toasty malt note behind it all.  The peach esters from the West Yorkshire yeast really pull it together.

Flavor:

The taste follows the nose, big burst of juicy hops, peach, tropical fruits, pine, and a grapefruit kick.  Dank hop resins follow with lots of hop oils and toasty malts below.  Hard to tell if the peach is all hops or all yeast, but they blend well.

Mouthfeel:

Medium body is rich and smooth, slightly full on the palate, but not heavy, which is part of the hallmark of the West Yorkshire yeast.  Semi-dry finish, needs to be drier for my tastes.  Bitterness balances well, but really is too soft, needs a boost.  The finish is slightly flabby which I am beginning to believe is from the addition of pickling lime to my mash.  I think it is taking the finished pH up a little and leaving the beer without that dry crisp punch I really want to see.  Lactic acid in the glass makes it pop a little more.

Overall:

Big burst of juicy hops in the nose and tongue, complex hop notes, toasty malt sweetness, good lacing.  This beer is well on it's way to becoming a great IPA (last year's version took 2nd place after 3 months).  We will see what happens with this one when I enter it in June.  The finish needs tweeking, up the IBUs, dry it out a bit more, and get the pH down a tad.  Other than that this beer really quenches that need for lupulin.  Maybe a touch more dankness to round out the big fruits.

RECIPES: #57 Hop Hedonist (IPA) & #58 Identity Crisis (Black IPA)

No matter how hard I try to get away from it, I can't escape that reality that I am a Hop Head.  The aromatics of tropical fruits, pine, citrus rinds, resins, they are just so alluring.  With a pulling bitterness in the finish and a mild malt backing to support the hops, an IPA is truly a thing of beauty.  Yes, there are many out there who hate bitter beer, but maybe it is because I am from the North West, I gotta have them hops.  And it had been too long with out them.  I blew my keg of Autumn IPA a month ago and have been fiending for the hops ever since.  I bought some Dale's Pale Ale, Hopothermia, and Palate Wrecker and it just isn't cutting it.  Finally I got a chance to brew up 2 IPAs.  

2nd Place Review: IPA

Every so often you get that itch, you know the one I'm talking about, the craving for hops.  Some of us always have that itch, others float between flavor cravings.  I have found myself to have a fairly diversified palate, but I always love a good IPA.  And there is no better IPA than the one you brewed fresh yourself.  On this beer I was looking for a big fruity hop punch with lots of tropical and juicy fruits, low citrus, and a big piney background, with a restrained malt presence.  That's what I got.

Look:

Pours a deep gold almost orange, clearish but still hazy from the dryhops, creamy and thick white head.  This beer glows.  The foam stays the distance, and leaves sticky lacing all down the glass.

Aroma:

Smells like tropical punch!  Lots of mango and pineapple, touch of peaches, resin, and pine.  Not really getting much citrus fruits, but this is a fruit bomb.  Makes you wonder what fruits are in the beer, but there isn't any.

Flavor:

Flavor mirrors the smell.  Lots of pine hits first, with a lingering of tropical fruits.  The finish is a little off, leaving a mild overripe peaches flavor that isn't too appealing, but it is mild enough that it doesn't make the beer off-putting.  Lots of fruit and resin.  Restrained malt, with a touch of toasty malt.  Some honey notes.

Mouthfeel:

Medium-Light body with a dryish finish, not super dry like I had hoped for.  Bitterness is there, but a little restrained for the estimated 92 IBUs, more like 60s?  The hops coat the tongue leaving it sticky.  Carbonation is a little prickly and helps cleanse the palate.

Overall:

I really like this IPA.  Good burst of fruity hops, pine, resin, tropics, complex layers, sticky hops, good color and head.  It does need to finish dryer and have a higher bitterness to get it to pop more.  It borders on a highly hopped Pale Ale with a higher ABV.

Recipes: Identity Crisis II (Black IPA) & 2nd Place - Homie's Hop Sock (IPA)

Every so often (more often then I would like to admit) I get an itch, an IPA itch.  Nothing can scratch this itch except a hop bomb.  Unfortunately many of the commercial IPAs I have been buying just don't cut it, some are just old (one hop bomb was simply caramel in the nose and flavor).  I even got a Black IPA from a local brewery that was brewed and kegged only days before I got my growler fill, and it just didn't work.  I haven't brewed an IPA in a long time, my 3 Fresh Hop beers were great but just didn't have the hop punch I was hoping for, and the Gumballhead Clone I brewed was quite hoppy but the 1/2 gallon of StarSan impacted the final pH making the finish on the beer difficult to drink.